Wherever art collector, philanthropist and billionaire Eli Broad goes, star architects follow. As the lead donor for UCLA's Broad Art Center (2000), LACMA's Broad Contemporary Art Museum (2003), and the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University (2007), he has brought big names like Richard Meier, Renzo Piano and Zaha Hadid respectively to modern architecture, specifically museum design. And with his current project, the Broad Museum (situated next to the Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles), Broad introduces relative newcomers Diller Scofidio + Renfro to the list.

With more than 2,000 contemporary works of art to his and his foundation's name, Broad's art collection is too expansive to list, so I'll stick to the monuments erected to house it. First up is the Broad Museum, currently under construction (pictured above and below).

Nobody walks in L.A., and to that end cars feature prominently in this design, visible through wide glass windows on the lobby level as they enter the underground parking lot.

The just-opened design at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, is all Zaha Hadid--skewed lines and angles taken straight from a science fiction movie (below).

The windswept lines continue on to the interiors, where even the recessed fixtures continue with an asymmetrical theme.

The least adventurous of Broad's museums is the Piano designed BCAM at LACMA (pitcured below). Given that the institution is partially taxpayer-funded, the austere design is a bit more understandable.

In truth, the most prominent feature of the new wing is artist Chris Burden's light sculpture located next door (check out our earlier story about Chris Burden's artwork). If you're so inclined, feel free to shop our modern post lights and build an art installation of your own at home.

Lighting isn't only used as artwork, as the above picture would have you think. At museums and in the home, it's a critical part of viewing artwork. In recent years, the art world has increasingly eschewed traditional incandescent picture lights in favor of modern recessed lighting and fluorescent and halogen fixtures. Here are a few of my favorite designs for lighting contemporary art:

Starting your own personal art collection is a lot of fun. And who knows, someday you may find yourself gifting your art collection to museums across the country too. This is the season of giving after all.

Every year, Americans head south in the winter for a growing conglomeration of art and design fairs. In early December, the art world descended upon Miami for a weekend-long collection of more than 20 art fairs. In the next few months Southern California will see a handful of fairs, beginning with Los Angeles in January (the L.A. Art Show, Art Contemporary L.A., and Photo L.A.) and Palm Springs in February (Palm Springs Fine Art Fair and the Modernism Show).

Folks line the halls of convention centers and pop-up tents for these weekend-long parties, taking in thousands of works on sale, along with a never-ending series of art installations, performances and symposia by day. At night, luxury lifestyle brands foot the bill at any number of exclusive parties (see Pae White's city block-sized oceanfront installation from 2009 below)...Don't worry about getting a formal invite. Someone always knows someone in the art world.

To get your hands on a piece of art work, you can expect to pay as much as $1 million, but the window shopping is free and as good of a reason as any to attend an art fair. And for that, we recommend taking in Design Miami. There was no shortage of eye candy at this year's event (December 5-9, 2012), from the inflated tube foyer by NYC-based Snarkitecture pictured below...

...to the design installations inside:

A stark yet composed contrast was the name of the game at Design Miami, which got me thinking about how to get this same effect at home. Use throw pillows with bold patterns. Contemporary wall sconces with raw bronze finishes and rustic wood furniture. Graphic, text-based wall art. Effective pop of color such as red or orange modern table lamps.

Of course, if you've got some extra wall space and are in the market, art fairs are an excellent opportunity to find original art too. Remember, dealers are there to sell artwork and to that end, many are willing to offer payment plans and even discounts on your first piece of artwork. It's also possible to find work from emerging artists at a very reasonable price. So while it's too late this year for Miami, head to Southern California in January and February. The sun will be out and the art will too.